Officials team up to beautify Terrebonne

It may be in the eye of the beholder, but a couple of dozen residents gathered in Houma last week to tell Terrebonne government officials that the parish has a long way to go when it comes to beautification.

Parish officials scheduled the meeting on beautification Tuesday in response to President Michel Claudet’s post-election call to brighten up Terrebonne.

Claudet appointed high school students Carl Hebert and William Dunckelman as government interns this summer to coordinate Terrebonne’s beautification and recycling initiatives, respectively.

Curbside recycling, with parish residences receiving bins to contain their recyclables, was deemed overly expensive, so the parish is aiming to collect plastics and paper for recycling at drop-off bins, Dunckelman said.

Dunckelman told the Terrebonne Parish Council last week that putting the bins in place will take time.

The parish saves around $36 on each ton of solid waste that is recycled, according to a letter written to the Terrebonne Parish Council by Utilities Director Tom Bourg in March. Bourg’s letter also states the parish has not found a cost-effective way to collect plastics and paper.

Terrebonne has newspaper-recycling bins at more than 30 schools. All of them accept magazines and telephone books, Dunckelman said.

Used oil is collected at all Wal-Mart stores in Terrebonne and Lafourche and at several auto parts stores, as well as the Ashland Landfill.

Terrebonne also picks up discarded appliances, called “white goods,” for free when left in front of residences, yet these items are often left on the side of roadways, Claudet said.

“It’s unnecessary to dump them,” Dunckelman said. “Call the solid waste administrator and set a time for pickup. There’s no need to put them along the bayou.”

Terrebonne Sheriff Vernon Bourgeois was critical about the appearance of parts of the parish.

“I don’t like the way lots of places in Houma look,” Bourgeois said.

In particular, U.S. Highway 90 coming into the parish has a litter problem.

“I don’t send out-of-towners along U.S. 90,” he said. “It’s bad.”

Outrageously, some motorists toss trash out of car window to inmates working alongside the road for them to pick up, and more trusties will soon be on roadsides doing cleaning work, said Bourgeois, who wants more recycling centers to make disposing of trash convenient.

Nabbing litterers is no easy task, he said. They simply toss their trash when deputies or police are not around.

Terrebonne deputies catching anyone littering are given a paid day off as a reward. So far, none have been able to claim that free day.

Still, the sheriff’s office urges anyone spotting a litterbug in the act to call to make a report. A deputy can contact the person making the call to tell what happened as a result of the response.

Bourgeois said the sheriff’s office saves Terrebonne around $2 million a year through inmate work crews cleaning the parish, but that is a double-edged sword because potential contractors are not getting paid.

Half-sunken boats in parish waterways are another blight. Bourgeois said he is baffled that owners of the boats frequently do not claim them because some of the vessels could be worth more than a hundred thousand dollars.

On land, decaying structures can be found throughout the parish.

“We need to work in this direction,” he said. “I’m elated about (beautification), but we need to get moving now. It’ll just get worse.”

Interim Parish Manager Pat Gordon, who heads Terrebonne’s Planning Department, said parish government’s response to derelict structures and overgrown grass is complaint-driven. Officials do not ride around looking for eyesores as part of their duties.

When a complaint is received about overgrown grass, a five-day warning is issued. Gordon said the high number of residents who pay fines for tall grass rather than trimming the weeds is surprising since the fines can be as much as $500. Liens are placed on properties if penalties are not paid.

The parish council typically condemns eight or nine structures at its condemnation hearings, which are held regularly throughout the year, Gordon said.

On the upside, the parish last year began zoning Bayou Cane along Louisiana Hwy. 311, legally requiring landscaping on all commercial developments, he said.

In addition, work on the Bayou Terrebonne Boardwalk project in downtown Houma has started, said Anne Picou, Main Street manager.

After hearing audience member complaints about the unsightliness of parts of Bayou Terrebonne, Claudet said the parish has plans to dredge the waterway from Southland Mall to Coteau Road and to introduce more fresh water into the bayou.

Responding to another contention from an audience member that Thibodaux’s welcome signs are much better maintained than the ones for Terrebonne, Claudet promised that entrances into the parish will be emphasized.